No, I don’t have celiac disease (I’ve already been tested), it’s just a sensitivity. But eating gluten can leave you feeling tired, bloated, and a little sick. It affects everything. When I ate gluten, my face swelled up, my head felt foggy, I got migraines, I had trouble concentrating, and my stomach hurt for days.
I denied that my favorite food made me feel that way and tried to eliminate everything else first. Was it dairy products? What about sugar? No, it was gluten.
In theory, eliminating gluten from your diet may seem manageable. It’s just a matter of making a few lifestyle changes, right? A slight inconvenience? In fact, it becomes a full-time brain teaser.
Now every meal begins with scouting. I scan the menu differently, looking for clues. Maybe there’s flour hidden in sauces and gravies, breadcrumbs in meatballs, and soy sauce in marinades? I learned that gluten is more of a lifestyle choice than an ingredient, one that the food industry made for me a long time ago. It’s everywhere. It’s despicable. Rich and decadent. Frankly, that’s a bit rude.
Eating out, once the easiest and most enjoyable part of my job, became a series of negotiations.
“Is this fried food? Is the fryer shared?”
“Do you have gluten-free pasta?”
“Why don’t you bake breadcrumbs on the eggplant?”
“Is there tamari in my sushi?”
Every gluten-free person has those moments when they feel like they know when the waiter has to “check with the kitchen.” That’s when you realize that dinner has become complicated.
Often I find myself staring into the depths of the bread basket on the table, watching others spread copious amounts of butter on slices of bread. In many places I desperately ask the server of The question – “What is gluten free?” – and I finger the menu and circle around the salad. Great, today it’s a rabbit.
There is also the humiliation of realizing that so much of one’s character is built on bread. I also make pasta at home and bought a shirt that says “HOT GIRLS EAT BREAD.” I’m an adventurous eater, I’ll try anything at least once, I’ve never met a carb I didn’t like, and I believed that the best way to get to know a place is to walk around it and talk to the staff who run it.
Now, I’m the one asking if tortilla chips are truly gluten-free or just gluten-free in spirit.
By no means am I perfectly suited to this new diet. After eating my favorite cacio e pepe in Oberlin, Pizza Marvin’s Loni Island pizza (pepperoni, cherry peppers, hot honey), Asian Bakery’s banh mi, mounds of pancakes at Diner, mole, and dumplings from Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood, would I be willing to suffer?Yes, yes, I would.
But I’ve found some great spots that cater to these new needs. Verveine Cafe & Bakery in Cambridge is a completely gluten-free bakery, and when you eat their bread and ube brownies, you feel like you’re not missing out on anything. Nick’s on Broadway in Providence has gluten-free crostini and biscuits that are just as good as his “authentic” crostini and biscuits (no, they’re really good). Thankfully, Eataly has the perfect gluten-free pasta to make at home. And I’m really drawn to Vietnamese food, a lot of which is naturally gluten-free. Le Madeline in Quincy and Gao in Dorchester are coming to see me more. I’m ordering more poke bowls, crudo, and sushi than ever, which is true soul food.
But now it’s different.
I still love going out and trying new foods. But lately, before I eat, I find myself doing something I’ve never done before. I can’t help but hesitate.
Where do you eat gluten-free food? Send your recommendations around New England to: Alexa.Gagosz@globe.com.
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Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. follow her @alexagagosz Check out @AlexaGagosz on Instagram.
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